Disney Dining At Home - Maui Scalloped Potatoes from 'Ohana

Aloha! Let's head to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and to my favorite restaurant, 'Ohana. This recipe for Maui Scalloped Potatoes adds a nice tropical twist to any meal and only takes a few minutes to prep and just an hour to cook.

Ingredients
1 lb Russet potatoes sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onions
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a baking pan.
3. Combine all ingredients into pan
4. Place pan into oven and bake for 1 hour
5. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes
6. Serve and enjoy.

Flashback Fridays: The Virgin Megastore

Back when Disney Springs was Downtown Disney. And it had stuff to do beside shop at the same stores your local mall has. There was a place, a special place where you could by music, movies, and books. A place where you could spend hours seeing everything or just kill time till your movie started. That place was the Virgin Megastore. I have so many good memories in that building. Buying Cd's of bands I just saw play at the House of Blues across the way. Finding albums of obscure Scandinavian bands that you couldn't get anywhere else in the states. I even bought my first Xbox in these hollowed walls. A great place and a big lose for Downtown Disney at the time. It was mostly underused after it closed. At one point it was home to a Princess Diana exhibit and another time a remote control car store. But it would end up a Splitsville. Kind of ironic that one dying piece of Americana the music store became another a bowling ally

Audio Archives: More with the Mousketeers at River Country

Today on the Manifesting the Magic YouTube page we posted the actual video from the 1977 Special with the Mouseketeers visiting River Country. Enjoy this trip back to the 70's and take a look the beginning we left in a quick close up look at the original Mark IV Monorails.

Audio Archives: The River Country song

From the 1977 Television Special The Mousketeers at Walt Disney World This song is as good of a time as River Country was.

Mapping the Magic: The Herb Ryman Map

As the story goes Walt asked Herb to help him draw the first map of Disneyland. The Catch they had one weekend to do it so Walt's brother Roy could take it on Monday to New York to show The bankers to get the funding. The other catch no one knew what Disneyland looked like. Apart from a few simple sketches, Walt had done this was a truly blank canvas.  Well the weekend came and went and below we see what we got. A map that would shape the world of themed entertainment for years to come. A new concept for a park the Hub System. having a central location to branch off from. Also the use of a weenie. Yeah a weenie that's Walt's term for a central Icon to draw your eye and give you a reference point to know where you are. Also the Idea of themed lands. Apart from a western town here and there Parks didn't have every area of a park themed to a cretin idea. And so the Theme Park was Born.

Walt Disney And Herb Ryman looking over sketches for the 64 World's Fair. 

The Original Map. Note the placement of Adventureland.

The Original Map with added color to highlight the attractions.

May the 4th Be With You!

To celebrate Star Wars Day this year lets take a look at what was happening on Hollywood Blvd in 2008 at Star Wars Weekends.

The Event Banner outside the main gate.

Stormtroopers patrol above the turn-styles.

This isn't the Mouse your looking for.

lucky for us they are very bad shots.

Jedi Mickey using the force.

The good old 501st parade down Hollywood Blvd.

Aren't you a little short to be a Stormtrooper?

The man himself Darth Vader.

The Late Peter Mayhew.

Warwick Davis A.K.A. Wicket the Ewok was Master of Ceremony's in 2008.

Disney Dining At Home - Bread and Butter Pudding from Raglan Road

Today we stroll down to Raglan Road at Disney Springs to learn how to make Bread and Butter Pudding. This one has a lot of steps but they are pretty easy to follow. Also a good chunk of the ingredients you may already have in your pantry.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Pullman or Texas toast
1 pound Kerry gold butter softened
1 pound Sugar
1 quart Crème anglaise (see below)
1 cup Raisins soaked in Irish mist or water

Method of Preparation:
1. Combine the sugar and butter, spread evenly on the bread slices to make sandwiches, stack together and cut of the crust.
2. Cut the "sandwiches" in ½ on an angle (from corner to corner)
3. Butter the inside of 8 oven proof cups or preferred baking dish. One by one dip the "sandwiches" in the anglaise and place in the baking dish, layer the bread and a sprinkling of soaked raisins as you go until done.
4. Bake covered in a Bain Marie at 375 degrees for 35 minutes until it rises a bit. Remove the cover and bake an extra 10 minutes until slightly brown.
5. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly serve warm or at room temperature with anglaise and caramel sauce.

SAUCE ANGLAISE
Ingredients:
6 each Egg yolks
2 cups Sugar
1 each vanilla bean split or a teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart Heavy cream

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat up the cream and the vanilla bean on the stove until it almost starts to boil. Meanwhile combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk well.
2. When the creams reaches the almost boiling point, turn off and remove the pot from the flame. 
3. Temper the yolks, by ladling a small amount of cream to the bowl and mixing well. 
4. Then add the yolk sugar mixure to the cream, whisk well so that it does not curdle. 
5. Place over a low flame for 2 minutes whisking until it starts to thicken. 
6. Strain and allow to cool at room temperature.

CARAMEL SAUCE
Ingredients:
½ pound Butter, chilled
½ pound Brown sugar
1 cup Heavy cream

Method of Preparation:
1. Combine the sugar and butter in pot
2. Cook over a medium high flame. 
3. Whisk well to combine, when sugar is melted and it starts to boil turn off the stove, remove from the flame and whisk in the cream to combine. 
4. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Panoramic Paradise: The Boardwalk Pool

The Luna Park pool at Disney's Boardwalk Resort.

Happy Birthday Hollywood Studios!

Today is Disney's Hollywood Studios 31st Birthday. Let's Celebrate by taking a look at some extinct attractions.

Look up at the hidden Mickey's left year and you'll see the original Theater of the Stars. Later moved down to the end of Sunset Blvd.

The Infamous Sorcerers Hat. Built for the 100 Years of Magic Celebration in 2001.

New York Street was a very popular photo-op. It was also home to many special events like...

 The Osborne Spectacle of Lights...

Also Hulk Hogans signing with WCW.

The Backlot Tour was once part of a 3-hour Studios tour. Later it would be cut down to almost nothing before being removed for Galaxy's Edge.

And of course the centerpiece of the Studios was The Great Movie Ride. "A Spectacular Journey Into the Movies".

Disney Day in History: The Empress Lilly is christened

Today in 1972 the Empress Lilly is opens at the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village. She is christened by none other then Lillian Disney Walt's wife whom the boat was named after. When she opened she had three restaurants. Fisherman's Deck served breakfast and was one of the first character dinning options on property. Steerman's Quarters was only open for dinner as was the Empress Room. the Empress Room was one of the most elegant places to dine at Walt Disney World holding on to that title till the 90's when Victoria and Albert's would open at the Grand Floridian.